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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2019)
A3 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 Oregon State celebrates the opening of timber research lab By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press CORVALLIS — A new facility dedicated to research- ing and testing mass tim- ber in commercial buildings is now open at Oregon State University. Oregon State cele- brated the grand opening of the A.A. “Red” Emmer- son Advanced Wood Prod- ucts Laboratory on Oct. 10 at the main campus in Corval- lis. The 17,500-square-foot lab is part of the College of Forestry’s new Oregon For- est Science Complex, which broke ground in 2016. Mass timber refers to products such as cross-lam- inated timber, or CLT, and glue-laminated beams used in the construction of build- ings, as opposed to steel or concrete. While Europe has pio- neered mass timber since the early 1990s, Oregon became just the fi rst state last year to adopt building codes that allow for wood-framed buildings up to 18 stories tall. That is due in part to research by the TallWood Design Institute, a partner- ship between Oregon State’s College of Forestry and Col- lege of Engineering, and the University of Oregon’s Col- lege of Design. The Advanced Wood Products Lab will house the TallWood Design Insti- tute, with 20 to 30 profes- sors studying fi re perfor- mance, building physics and environmental impact of new mass timber products. Iain Macdonald, direc- Oregon State University The Advanced Wood Products Laboratory at Oregon State University will house the TallWood Design Institute, a research collaborative for mass timber in tall commercial buildings. It includes state-of-the-art equipment such as a KUKA milling robot. tor of the TallWood Design Institute, said the program has close links with Ore- gon’s manufacturing com- munity, including both of the state’s mass timber producers — D.R. Johnson Lumber in Riddle and Freres Lumber in Lyons. “We have also been able to conduct structural, fi re, acoustic and durability test- ing for many of the mass timber building projects that have taken shape around Oregon and beyond,” Mac- donald said. The grand opening fea- tured live demonstrations of state-of-the-art manufac- turing equipment, such as a milling robot used to carve mass timber beams and panels. Anthony Davis, interim dean of the Oregon State University College of For- estry, said wood construction “has to be a cornerstone in mounting an aggressive front in challenging our sustain- ability and climate crises.” Figures provided by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute show it produces 26% less greenhouse gases to make CLT compared to steel, and 50% less than making concrete. “Oregon is blessed with having some of the most productive and diverse for- ests in the world,” Davis said. “Because of this, we are better positioned than anyone else to serve as a bridge between our natu- ral resources and meeting demands of urban growth and renewal, while also con- tinuing to conserve habi- tat and provide recreational access.” The lab is named after A.A. “Red” Emmerson, who founded Sierra Pacifi c Indus- tries in 1949. His son, George Emmerson, graduated from OSU in 1978 and is now the company president. His daughter, Carolyn Emmer- son Dietz, is also president of the Sierra Pacifi c Foundation and graduated from Oregon State in 1982. Sierra Pacifi c Industries is the second-largest lum- ber producer in the U.S., and donated $6 million toward construction the Oregon For- est Science Complex. The $79.5 million com- plex, funded through a mix of public and private money, will also include the new 95,000-square-foot Peavy Hall, which is scheduled to open in spring 2020. According to Oregon State, enrollment in the Col- lege of Forestry has steadily increased over the last decade, with the number of applications and admitted students up nearly 20% in 2018. “These new facilities represent a critical step in the pathway toward using renewable materials in new ways,” Davis said. “Our mis- sion is to use this space as a model of how we can pair Oregon’s intellectual capac- ity with our natural resources and capitalize on our spirit of innovation.” Weyerhaeuser ex-fi nance manager charged with fraud, identity theft By MAXINE BERNSTEIN The Oregonian Federal prosecutors have fi led criminal charges against an ex-fi nance man- ager from timber com- pany Weyerhaeuser who is accused of stealing at least $4.5 million from the business. Susan Tranberg, 60, who had worked for the com- pany for 42 years, is charged with mail fraud and aggra- vated identity theft, accord- ing to a criminal information fi led in U.S. District Court in Eugene Tuesday. Tranberg also faces a temporary restraining order in federal court, barred from liquidating or transferring any of her assets at Weyer- haeuser’s request. Tranberg acknowledged the fraud in a signed state- ment to Weyerhaeuser that she wrote on Jan. 15, the day she was fi red in a meet- ing with company offi cials at a hotel near the offi ce in Springfi eld where she worked. Weyerhaeuser fi led the statement in court. “There is no (one) else to punish but ME,’’ Tran- berg wrote, offering to give up her 12 weeks of banked vacation pay, retirement and 401(k) to try to make things right. Weyerhaeuser in Febru- ary referred the fraud case to the U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce for criminal prosecution. Tranberg defrauded the company from June 2004 through January, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin W. Bruce. Company offi cials say in court papers that Tranberg defrauded the business for at least 15 years by creating fake vendors and approving payment to the vendors by forging co-workers’ signa- tures. She also would hack into colleagues’ computer systems without authori- zation or their consent, the offi cials allege. The payments in ques- tion were made to vendors identifi ed as M.J. Miller and Margaret J. Miller, the name of Tranberg’s mother who died in 2009, company offi - cials said. Tranberg had created a phony contract between Weyerhaeuser and fake sell- ers M.J. Miller and R. J. Miller called the “Tree Farm Family Agreement,’’ which was dated June 16, 1986, according to court papers. Tranberg used her mother’s Social Security number, her own home mailing address and Springfi eld offi ce address to receive fraudulent payments made to the Mill- ers under the fake contract, according to Weyerhaeuser. Weyerhaeuser never received timber under the contract but the payments to the non-existent Millers continued for more than a decade and were pocketed by Tranberg for her personal benefi t, company offi cials wrote in court documents. “Defendant used her Seaside gives nod to vacation rental fee hike A new $400 fee By R.J. MARX The Astorian SEASIDE — The City Council has voted unani- mously to raise annual per- mit fees for vacation rent- als . The fee hike adds $400 per year to all permit costs, which are divided into three tiers based on occupancy. The goal is to fund a com- pliance offi cer, designed to inspect vacation rentals and enforce local codes related to items like noise, litter and parking. “One of the things coun- cil needed to look at was how they would fund a compli- ance offi cer position,” City Manager Mark Winstanley said. “It was suggested the business license for vaca- tion rental dwellings might be the best alternative.” The fee increase, Win- stanley said, will “allow for generation of enough money to pay for costs asso- ciated with the compliance offi cer.” These could include sal- ary, benefi ts and necessary equipment. In public comment on Monday night, Joyce Hunt, a resident, “highly encour- aged” councilors to increase the annual fee. “We really need to get ordinance enforcement,” Hunt said. “This is the fi rst step, and I hope we can keep it going.” There are about 275 vacation rentals in Sea- side, Winstanley said, the majority designated small or medium. The c urrent rates are $75 for rentals with one to fi ve occupants, $100 for six to 10 occupants, and $150 for more than 11 occupants. John Dunzer, who owns a one-bedroom bed-and- breakfast in the Cove, Consult a PROFESSIONAL Q: How can I tell if information I search for is safe? LEO FINZI Weyerhaeuser offi cials say Susan L. Tranberg defrauded the business for at least 15 years. knowledge of and responsi- bility for the advance cash payment process at Weyer- haeuser to receive cashier’s checks made payable to the fake vendor account,’’ the prosecutor wrote in a crim- inal information. Tranberg was in federal court in Portland Tuesday morning, appearing in a civil case brought against her by her former employer. Her lawyer in that case, Randal Acker, told the court his cli- ent is not trying to hide her assets, nor has she been on any “spending spree,’’ as suggested by the company’s lawyer in court documents. Clatsop Post 12 OKTOBER FEST! 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Winstanley said the increase was based on the cost of a visit to a prop- erty by a compliance offi - cer, which would generally be the same regardless of a property’s size. “The reason we made them all the same, was basi- cally because the work is all the same,” he said. With business licenses sent out in December, the council needed to act imme- diately to pass the ordinance in time for the new year. City Councilor Dana Phillips showed little appe- tite for delay. “If we start dragging our feet, it’s not going to go into effect for months,” Phillips said. “Isn’t that why we had two workshops? Isn’t this why the Planning Commis- sion has done all the work they’ve done? I think we need to move forward.” City Councilor Tom Horning echoed her com- ments, and defended the $400 fee hike across all occupancy ranges. “The idea of having fees set in order to meet a bud- get for an employee who is going to be hired to over- see this is an important part of the process,” he said. “If you start cutting discounts for certain parts, you start unfunding the position. I’d recommend moving for- ward with this.” One more council read- ing remains, on Oct. 28, before the new fee struc- ture goes into effect 30 days later. C hanges to the ordinance could be ahead, includ- ing incentives for property owners with a good record or who use a management company. Lisa Cadonau best way to get results from my limited advertising dollar? Advertising Representative A: The combination of a 503-325-3211 print and online audience is recession proof. We have an excellent print and online special for this time of year. 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